Hamas says will free all hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed

A senior Hamas official says that the Palestinian terror group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a “serious prisoner swap” and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.

Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar — two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire.

“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, tells AFP.

However, he accuses Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire.

“The issue is not the number of captives,” Nunu says, “but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.”

“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation [Israel] to uphold the agreement,” he adds.

Reports today say that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.

Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.